Kansas Jayhawks freshman Darryn Peterson has taken lots of criticism for missing too many games this season
Kansas Jayhawks star freshman Darryn Peterson has faced plenty of criticism this season because of his limited availability.
Everyone from Stephen A. Smith to Dick Vitale had something to say about Peterson missing 11 games for a variety of reasons. Even though the Jayhawks are 9-2 in his absence, the critics keep surfacing.
The latest is ESPN analyst and former coach Seth Greenberg. He gave his take on the Peterson situation during a recent appearance on "Get Up."
"It's not unfair," Greenberg said of the criticism directed toward Peterson from fans and media. "It's reality. I think he loves the game of basketball and he's a special talent but when you playing against BYU and you dominated the first half and you just walk up and take yourself out without any reason or rhyme in terms of what exactly happened, it's a problem."
The reason for the criticism is valid. Peterson is being paid a lot of money to play for the Jayhawks. He's also a projected top two pick in the June NBA draft. When he's played, Peterson has lived up to the hype. He is averaging 19.5 points in the 17 games he's played but it's hard to avoid the time he's missed. There were two occasions where he took himself out of games, most noticeably last week against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The uncertainty has made it difficult for teammates because they never know if he is going to be in the lineup on any given night. The Jayhawks are coming off an upset of the Houston Cougars despite Peterson being basically a non-factor.
His availability makes it tough to even consider if the Jayhawks are a national title contender.
"When you play against Oklahoma State ... and just take yourself out, that's a problem," Greenberg said. "When you have the flu allegedly and all of a sudden five minutes before the game, your head coach realizes that you're not playing, that's a reality. It's nothing more than that. They need him on the floor and they need him to be an active participant in practice to reach their potential."
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of JayhawksRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com